If you've ever flipped through the pages of dusty a encyclopaedia, chances are you would have seen the numerous intricate, hand-drawn images of plants and animals.

They're often incredibly detailed drawings and have been done by artists who've spent years honing their skills.

A collection of works by a group of local natural history illustrators is on show in a unique way at the Newcastle Museum.

The exhibition showcases the group's work after they sailed to Port Stephens' Broughton Island in early 2013 to observe and illustrate some of the natural wonders at the site.

A journey comes to life

Located just off the coast at Hawks Nest, north of Newcastle, the rugged Broughton Island is a place of isolated mystery for many people.

When University of Newcastle PhD candidate Lambert Davis began considering topics to research, he was attracted to the island's 114 hectares of untouched beauty.

As such, in early 2013 he, along with illustrators Andrew Howells, Chris Rockley, Daniel Atkins, Kathleen Hanna and Herbert Heinrich, set sail to the island on a mission to explore and document its flora and fauna.

Andrew Howells is a lecturer in natural history illustration at Newcastle University and says the trip was a unique opportunity.

"[Lambert] was looking at how early artists travelled with James Cook and other explorers, and how they worked in the field, how they recorded, and how they made artworks," he says.

"The trip was an opportunity for Lambert to take a voyage with a group of illustrators, [and] see how they worked in those sorts of conditions."

Over the five days on the island, the illustrators woke early and spent the day on land or in the water observing, photographing, and drawing.

They had a rough plan as to what they'd like to achieve, but the sense of exploration added to their heightened enthusiasm.

"The idea was to look from the seabed to the sky," says Dr Howells.

"It was pretty much based off what most people's interests were."

Dr Howells and fellow illustrator Chris Rockley spent much of their time in the island's intertidal zone.

Chris says despite the challenges of sea sickness, the voyage was a positive experience.

"I'd done [a trip] before with scientists, but not with other artists, so that was really intense, [but] great," she says.

Chris was tasked with collecting and documenting various types of seaweed found on Broughton Island.

"My idea for the island was to try out different techniques for collecting," she says.

"I'd get up really early in the morning and lay all the seaweed out on the wet shore and take photos of it because it gave the best colour; it was the 'golden hour', so the light is the best and the bright light hasn't come in and destroyed the colour.

"The drawing came into it when I had something that was going to die on me really quickly.

"Every day was different and the amount of specimens I found, as well as information we came across, was invaluable."

From Broughton Island to Newcastle Museum

It's been a two-year process for the illustrators to collate their findings and pull the exhibition together.

Intricate paintings, drawings and display panels with information about Broughton Island's habitat line the museum's walls. In a glass cabinet are taxidermies of animals that can be found on the island.

It's a visual blend of information which combines into telling the story of the group's voyage.

"[What surprised me was] how exposed the island was," says Chris.

"It's an island a lot of people are fascinated with, but can't quite get out to. It's been something that I've gone to Hawks Nest and looked at, and gone, 'I want to get out there!', but I just can't.

"This was a great experience to spend a bit of time [on the island] and record what's there for people who can't get out there."

Keeping traditions alive

Despite technology having improved out of sight since the early days of exploration, Dr Howells says there will always be a need for natural history illustrators.

"There's still so much to discover. If you go back to the core skill of what we do, it's being able to look at something, observe fine detail, and then create an artwork that communicates knowledge," he says.

"It doesn't matter what technology platform you're using, it's about that role of communicating."

Chris Rockley agrees.

"I'm working on a book at the moment that's looking at the Hunter's flora endemics, and I have five other illustrators to help me with the [drawings] for that," she says.

"The fact that I'm working with a botanist that has seen these things in the field, and he's signed-off on them, gives me reassurance that I'm pretty well right.

"The amount of information we've found out over the last couple of years about those plants, you wouldn't have been able to find out if it was just a photography book."